I am fundraising to help a visually challenged youth buy musical instruments he lost in a fire

Why am I fundraising?

At 11.30 am on December 7 a fire ravaged Damu Nagar, a slum on a hillock overlooking Kandivali Lokhandwala Complex in Mumbai. Cooking gas cylinders exploded one after another and over 800 families lost everything but the clothes on their back. Siddharth Gajanan Sasani, a 24 year-old visually challenged musician, was one of the victims and lost his keyboard, set of speakers and amplifiers, which he had recently purchased keeping in mind the wedding season, along with every other belonging he had.

This, however, is not the first time tragedy has struck Sasani. In 2008, Sasani was at a Ganpati pandal playing dhol when he was attack with acid. He had just appeared for his board exams. “He called to inform me that he would be sleeping at the pandal itself since it was late. Someone came during the night and poured acid in my baby's eyes. I don't know what they got by doing so,” his mother Kalabai told an iamin.in reporter. The police didn’t help, she claimed.

Lost his livelihood

“I was scheduled to perform at about 15 places and I can’t. I have no way to feed my family," Sasani, who is married and has a child said.

What do I plan to do with the funds?

Bridge India, a Mumbai-based not-for-profit organization and the on-ground partners for research, volunteer mobilization, aid distribution to help victims of the Kandivali Fire, will take the funds raised on Milaap and accompany Sasani to a store and purchase the equipment that will allow him to get back on his feet.

Iamin.in, a hyper local news and citizen engagement platform run by Zee Digital Corporation Limited, will monitor and document the rehabilitation efforts.

Iamin.in and Bridge India will together continuously follow-up on Sasani and provide information to contributors about how he has utilized the aid and how it has changed his life.

We are pleased to inform you that Siddharth has purchased a keyboard with the funds you’ve contributed and has started playing music again.

Siddharth, who had lost his musical instruments in the fire, is once again composing music with the new keyboard purchased. From the month of June to present, he has been performing at various local events and weddings either individually or with a troupe.

His mother is also pleased to listen to Siddharth play music again. “We never thought we’d hear him play again,” she exclaims. “We still have to deal with a lot of problems, but listening to him play his instrument is what gives me peace. He is also extremely happy to be doing what he does best.”

But the good news does not end here. According to his doctor, Siddharth might be able to regain his eyesight in the near future with a surgery or two. This possibility has given new hope to Siddharth and his family and he’s working extra hard at performing music and saving up for his surgery.

He would sincerely like to thank each and everyone who contributed to his campaign and gave him words of comfort, along with bringing music back into his life.